ABOUT THE FOUNDERS

Page and Jolie Parker, M.S.CCC-SLP, Founders of Alternative Speech and Swallowing Solutions, inc.:Jolie received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from the University of Florida and then went on to receive her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology also from the University of Central Arkansas. She specializes in the treatment of people who have dysphagia, with difficulty swallowing symptoms such as: having difficulty swallowing food, coughing or choking while eating, difficulty swallowing pills, and coughing or choking when drinking liquids, persistent cough, constant cough, or coughing after eating, and/or the sensation of food stuck in throat.

The first ISO device we made in 2009 was made out of aluminum, before we ever heard of CTAR.

In 2009, Jolie asked her husband, Page Parker, to help her make a device for swallowing exercises for her dysphagia patients. She was frustrated by the lack of effectiveness of dysphagia exercises with her patients. She noticed that the best results were with the Shaker exercise for dysphagia, but it was very inconvenient to get patients into and out of the supine position (lying down on back) to do this exercise. She wanted an easier way to do the Shaker exercise for dysphagia and to target the suprahyoid muscles more intensely.

Together, Page and Jolie invented the ISO Swallowing Exercise Device (now called the ISO-CTAR Device). Over the years, they have improved it and Jolie has used it with hundreds of dysphagia patients with much better success than any other exercises she has ever used with patients. As she worked on swallowing problems with patients, she also noticed that their voices became much stronger and louder, with better vocal range. Then, she realized that the device could also be used to do Vocal Cord Adduction Exercises and that by strengthening the suprahyoid muscles, which elevate the larynx, you also improve vocal range.

Since then, many research studies have been completed involving the CTAR and JOAR exercises and indicating good results. It is now widely accepted as Evidence Based Practice and is currently being used by many well respected hospitals and rehab centers. Page and Jolie Parker are both instrumental in the on-going development and management of Alternative Speech and Swallowing Solutions, Inc. They provide free training and support for use of the ISO-CTAR device by email, phone, or skype.